Happy Valentines? What's The Big Deal About Chocolate?

Left  chocolate on the dining room table and now it’s nowhere to be seen?  Yup, only one place that went…but accidents happen!  Though the outcome  of that accident depends on several factors…

Halloween  (and the dreaded Christmas) is fast approaching which means that people  are starting to stock up on bits and pieces ready for the various  goings on…which means that there will be a lot more sweeties,  chocolates, nuts and other foods in the house than usual and thus,  temptation...and not just for us!

There  are a great many human foods which are safe for dogs, but there is a  great long list of human foods which aren’t.  Chocolate being one of  them, sweets (candy) being another…not just because of the sugar and  other questionable contents, but because of the very common ingredient;  Xylitol.  

You might be thinking  ‘my dogs eaten chocolate before and been absolutely fine, stop  scaremongering’ and while we often hear this there are numerous other  cases in which things have not been fine and thousands of dogs are  rushed to the emergency vet every year with chocolate poisoning...and  even in the smallest of quantities, Xylitol can be fatal to a dog.

In  other words, don’t take any chances.  Keep your sweet treats out of  reach of any hounds or unsupervised small humans who might accidently  feed it to the dog.

If you so  much as suspect your hound may have ingested Xylitol, that is an  immediate drop everything and rush to the vet situation.  Chocolate on  the other hand, may or may not be…

Every  dog will have a slightly different sensitivity to the chemical  contained in chocolate, called theobromine, which dogs are unable to  metabolise when ingested.

There  are numerous factors to take into consideration in the event a dog eats  chocolate beyond their individual sensitivity, such as their size,  weight, and any underlying health conditions.
Additionally,  the type of chocolate plays an important role as different types have  different quantities of theobromine. Also, how much they have eaten…if  you know that is! There is more of an urgency if you are uncertain and  there is a chance, they have eaten a large quantity…such as entire box  of After Eights or a whole tray of dark chocolate cup cakes!

Regardless  of how much, it is not worth taking the risk! You want to call the vet  for advice, if not immediate preventative treatment.

Vets  have a calculator that they use to determine if the amount they’ve  eaten poses a significant risk to the dog and it may be that you get  lucky and you get to ride out the inevitable gastrointestinal upset at  home.

If there is any concern, or  the amount eaten is unknown, you’ll be making an impromptu trip down to  the veterinary practice to have your dog go through induced vomiting.

That is if you can get them to the vet within a certain time frame of eating it…

Should your dog have eaten it a few hours earlier, the trip to the vet may prove to be a much more costly procedure!

You  would think this would be lesson learned…but unfortunately, dogs are  not that bright and will quite happily grab your chocolate again if you  leave it out and with Halloween fast approaching, there is going to be a  lot of tempting treats around the house and in busier trick or treating  streets! So be careful!

It is  probably a given that everyone reading this will have experienced this  at least once during their dog ownership. You may have gotten lucky and  avoided a trip to the vet, while others have had a hit to their  wallets…but what is all the fuss about?

You  see it time and time again, stories of dogs that ate chocolate and had  no ill effects. They didn’t even call the vet because it wasn’t anything  to worry about. But it is something to worry about.

Their  dog most likely will have had symptoms, but they may not have linked  them to the chocolate as it can take anywhere between 6 – 12 hours for  them to appear and up to 72 hours for them to begin to ease.

Theobromine,  at the end of the day, is a toxin. Symptoms of theobromine (chocolate)  poisoning can vary dramatically. Theobromine has a long half-life, which  when coupled with dog’s inability to break it down, means it sits in  the bloodstream for an extended time…leading to your dog feeling very  poorly indeed!

The common signs  of chocolate poisoning can mimic numerous other conditions which, if you  don’t know that your dog has ingested something, can make it difficult  for a vet to act should you seek help after symptoms set in…especially  in serious cases.

Common signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs include:

- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Excessive drinking
- Increased urination
- Restlessness
- Excessive panting
- Increased heart rate
- Arrythmia
- Muscle twitching

More serious ingestion and symptoms lead to hyperthermia, seizures, coma and in severe cases, death.

When  treatment is provided immediately, or as soon as it is discovered that  your dog has ingested chocolate, the situation can be remedied quickly  and with minimal upset…except for the dog, who will feel a bit rough  afterward!

Although it is rarely  fatal when treated early, other complications can occur. Especially so  should your dog have underlying health issue.

Xylitol  poisoning can look very similar, but the impact can come on much faster  (within the house) and be much more severe.  Seizures, coma, liver  failure and even death aren’t off the table, and you should be running  to your vet for immediate treatment if you even so much suspect that  they have eaten anything containing Xylitol!

Don’t  mess about if your dog eats something they shouldn’t, even if you just  suspect they have. It isn’t worth the gamble. Contact your vet for  immediate advice.

So, with  Halloween creeping up, and the subsequent holiday season on our  doorstep, remember to keep your dog safe by keeping your sweet treats  out of reach!